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Google Translate Adds 12 Minority Languages of Russia

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Google has added 12 languages of ethnic minority groups living in Russia as part of a major new update to its translation service announced on Thursday.

Among the total 110 new languages, Google Translate will now include Bashkir, Chechen, Udmurt and Yakut, among others.

In addition to Tatar, which was added in 2020, the U.S. tech giant’s latest update now features Crimean Tatar, which is distinct from the Tatar spoken in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan.

Google’s demonstration of Thursday’s update showed a Chechen-language translation of the phrase “Our mission: to enable everyone, everywhere to understand the world and express themselves across languages.”

The company said it used its own advanced AI language tool to roll out what it called its “largest expansion ever.”

“As technology advances, and as we continue to partner with expert linguists and native speakers, we’ll support even more language varieties and spelling conventions over time,” Google said in its announcement.

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